MARCC DELEGATES COUNCIL MINUTES 11 January 2011
Welcome: MARCC President Pat Coyle
Prayer: Rev. Sharon Dittmar, Unitarian Universalist Council of Greater Cincinnati
Minutes: Delegates Council Minutes of 12 December approved
Agenda: Delegates Agenda for 11 January approved
Attendance:
Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Fr. Joe Folzenlogen, Connie Widmer, James Bramlage, Bob Ehrsam, Jose Francisco Echeverria, Tony Stieritz, Fr. Louis Gasparini, Mary Wendeln Copp
Association of Unity Churches: Mark Stroud, Doris Hoskins
Baptist Ministers Conference:
Cincinnati Islamic Center:
Disciples of Christ: David Tietsort
Episcopal Diocese of Southern OH: Pat Coyle, Phylis, Charles Ellman
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America:
Interdenominational Ministers Alliance:
MARCC: Margaret A. Fox, Alice Skirtz (former Board President)
Miami Baptist Assoc. (American Baptist): Mark Basil
Presbytery of Cincinnati: Tiffany Zents, Rev. Hart Edmonds, George Hufford
Jewish Community Relations Council: Barbara Glueck
Society of Friends (Quaker): Donne Hayden, Frank Huss, Jim Coppock, Jean Crocker Lakness
United Methodist Church (OH River Valley Dist.): Nancy L. Walters, Cathie Shick
Unitarian Universalist Council of Cincinnati: Lee Myer, MJ Pierson, Sharon Dittmar
Guests: Timothy Riordan (City Manager, Dayton), Thomas Walrab (Executive Director, Dayton Human Relations Council)
Recording: Flip camera substituting for Sarah Geiger, MARCC Office Administrator
Handouts: MARCC January Newsletter, Immigrants as Entrepreneurs and Inventors (Excerpts from the Partnership for a New American Economy Fact Sheet, The Brookings Institute)
MARCC’s Office Administrator was out sick at the January Delegates Council Meeting. Substituting for her was our new office Flip camera which supposedly recorded the meeting. MARCC’s Executive Director, much to her dismay, though she followed the instructions, discovered after the meeting the Flip camera did not record the meeting. In light of this the January 2012 Delegates Council minutes are summarized via memory. Due to this problem we are also attaching the two handouts from the meeting, the Common Path, January Issue 2012 and Immigrants as Entrepreneurs and Inventors, Excerpts from the Partnership for a New American Economy Fact Sheet, Brookings Institute.
Introductory Remarks: Margaret Fox, Executive Director
This Delegates Council meeting focus is the Welcome Dayton Plan: An Immigrant Friendly City. We have with us today Dayton City Manager Timothy Riordon and Thomas Walrah, Executive Director of Dayton Human Relations Council.
Introduction of Today’s Speakers:
Timothy Riordon is Dayton City Manager and former Deputy City Manager of Cincinnati and member of the Banks Working Group.
Thomas Walrab is the Executive Director of the City of Dayton (OH) Human Relations Council and the former Coordinator of the Dayton Mediation Center. He has thirty years working in government and private sector environments involving affirmative action, contract compliance, civil rights, mediation, and conflict management and team building systems development. Tom received his BA English/Education from Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio and a MS Ed. in Special Education, University of Dayton, and Dayton, Ohio. He is also a Fellow and a Board member with the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation (ISCT), a former member of the Board of Directors for the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) and a founding member and first chairperson of the Ohio Community Mediation Association.
Presentation Summary
Tim Riordon, Dayton City Manager, felt the reason Dayton received so much publicity on the Welcome Dayton Plan was because Welcome Dayton: An Immigrant Friendly City, was announced the day after Alabama’s sweeping immigration bill, a series of anti-immigrant laws, was upheld in Federal Court. The press was looking for a counterpoint to Alabama’s anti-immigrant laws.
Mr. Riordon went on to outline the importance of re-building Dayton’s economy. Dayton is a city in crisis. Mr. Riordan felt immigrants are hard-working, build businesses and need job opportunities. This source of income could contribute to re-building Dayton’s tax base. He was able to present a proposal to City Commission to adopt tax incentives to develop an area of the city center along East Third Street into an international market to support immigrant entrepreneurs. The City Building Department was authorized to exercise flexible application of the building codes in the review of building permits. Tax incentives were encouraged to ease the way for small businesses.
Mr. Riordon was in constant conversations with the African-American community leaders over these incentives. For the most part, he said they were supportive and it continues to be about relationship building and incentives for whoever is interested in starting a business, creating procedures that streamline the process whether it is a small, medium or large business.
In order to encourage job creation, Riordon used the E5-Visa which was pursued by the city in cooperation with the business community. Riordon suggested we research for more details on the E5-Visa. The following is more detail on the E5-Visa.
Congress created the EB-5 immigrant investor visa category in the Immigration Act of 1990 in the hopes of attracting foreign capital to the US and creating jobs for American workers in the process. The overall advantage of the EB-5 visa category is that it allows the beneficiary to engage in commercial enterprise anywhere in the US subject only to some restriction in the pilot program targeting certain areas which ran out in 2008. Do not know whether or not the pilot program was extended. There are 10,000 visas available in the category each year, one-half of which were reserved for people who participated in a Pilot Program option designed for targeted investments in approved regional areas.
What are the basic requirements for the EB-5 visa?
There are three basic requirements as follows:
• First, the immigrant must establish a business or invest in an existing business that was created or restructured after November 19, 1990.
• Second, invest $1 million ($500,000 in some cases) in the business.
• Third, the business must create full-time employment for at least 10 US workers.
How does the EB-5 investor meet the requirement for a qualifying business?
There are three ways of meeting the requirement a qualifying business:
• The creation of an original business;
• The purchase of an existing business with simultaneous restructuring or reorganization such that a new commercial organization results; or
• Expansion of an existing business created after November 1990 through the investment of the required amount and the creation of ten new jobs.
(Source: Visa Serve NPZ Law Group-Immigration and Nationality Law)
Next, Tom Walrab, Executive Director of Dayton Human Relations Council, outlined the Welcome Dayton planning process. He identified the process as organic. The process grew out of the Human Relations Council study of housing conditions for Hispanic residents of Dayton. “it found that not only did civil rights “issues” impact
Hispanic residents, but other immigrant and refugee groups as well.
“The Dayton Human Relations Council has legal authority and acts on fair housing cases.
The Dayton Human Relations Council enforces ordinances and laws prohibiting discrimination under the City of Dayton's R.C.G.O. Section 32.
It is illegal to deny anyone employment (Section 32.03), public accommodation (Section 32.04), housing (Section 32.05), or credit transactions (Section 32.06) on the basis of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, place of birth, age, marital status, familial status, disability, and sexual orientation/gender identity.” Source: City of Dayton RCGO Section 32, Ordinance
With the support of the Dayton City Commission, the City Manager and the Police Chief, the Human Relations Council implemented a community conversation. Walrab’s office announced a date and time for the community to attend a meeting with this purpose in mind. More than 100 people attended the initial meeting, including two professors from the University of Dayton whose focus was immigrant studies. The attendees broke up into small groups to discuss two questions.
The first question asked, “What have you noticed about how the City has benefited from its new residents?” The response was spontaneous and overwhelming. Outcomes: Businesses were started. Jobs were created. Houses were rehabilitated. Underused buildings were reused and rejuvenated.
The second question asked was, “What is possible, if we become a city that intentionally welcomes immigrants?” The answer produced such an enthusiastic response that forty people committed to take ninety days to draft a plan that, if implemented, could result in a city that supports newcomers who make Dayton their home. Work groups were set up: Core Team, Business & Economic Development, Local Government & Justice System, Social Services & Health Services and Community, Culture, Arts & Education. The plan was submitted to the Dayton City Commission and passed along with a resolution for implementation. This resolution created a part time position within the Human Relations Council with the responsibility of coordinating the implementation of the Welcome Dayton Plan.
The recommendation that immigrants be granted an I.D. Card has been controversial. City Manager Riordon is not sure this recommendation will be implemented because he feels some immigrants would become a target for law enforcement that may result in deportation. This particular recommendation is still under discussion.
Coyle announced the conclusion of the presentation and thanked the speakers.
Closing Announcements: Pat Coyle, MARCC President
The next Delegates Council meeting is March 14th. Another date to put on your calendar is February 21st, which will be our Annual Meeting. Our guest speaker will be Police Chief James Craig.
Meeting adjourned at 1:15 pm